NWF affiliate – The National Wildlife Federation Bloghttp://blog.nwf.org
The National Wildlife Federation's blogSat, 17 Mar 2018 14:10:57 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.4139259312U.S. Virgin Islands Affiliate Sees Long Path to Recoveryhttp://blog.nwf.org/2018/02/u-s-virgin-islands-affiliate-sees-long-path-to-recovery/
http://blog.nwf.org/2018/02/u-s-virgin-islands-affiliate-sees-long-path-to-recovery/#commentsFri, 09 Feb 2018 16:53:49 +0000http://blog.nwf.org/?p=133103During a visit to the U.S. Virgin Islands in January, 2018, National Wildlife Federation President and CEO Collin O’Mara saw evidence of the first steps toward recovery for people and wildlife, following the devastating hurricanes that struck the Caribbean in September 2017.

On Twitter and Facebook, O’Mara reported on closed schools and damaged housing stocks across the small island territory and he praised local recovery efforts, including those of the electric utility and Royal Caribbean cruise lines. Representing the Federation at the Friends of Virgin Islands National Park Annual Meeting on January 22, he described the continuing effects of natural disasters throughout the country, and urged the U.S. Congress to act on funding desperately needed to help rebuild communities in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, and to restore habitat needed to defend against future storms, fires, and other catastrophic events.

Hurricane Irma made landfall in the U.S. Virgin Islands on September 6 as a category 5 storm–its sustained winds of 185 miles per hour were among the strongest ever recorded for an Atlantic hurricane. Throughout the 133-square mile territory (mainly composed of the islands of St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix, with a population of about 104,000), four people were killed, roofs were blown off buildings, windows were shattered, and nearly all the trees and shrubs were stripped of leaves and limbs. At the same time, wind and surging storm waters tore thousands of ships and boats from their moorings, dumping them into harbors, along beaches, and into sensitive mangrove lagoons. More was to come: Hurricane Maria struck the U.S. Virgin Islands on September 19. This time the damage came mostly from rains pouring into homes, hospitals, and businesses, where inhabitants were still reeling from the effects of Hurricane Irma. Amplified by the lost vegetation from Irma, there was extensive soil erosion and tons of mud and pollutants were washed into bays, harming mangroves, reef corals, and other aquatic life. In November, U.S. Virgin Islands Governor Kenneth E. Mapp requested $7 billion in disaster relief.

Thousands of public housing units destroyed. No temporary units and homelessness growing. Every “blue roof” is a tarp. Photo credit: Collin O’Mara

Hurricane Irma largely bypassed nearby Puerto Rico, but the damage Hurricane Maria caused to the more populous island is estimated to be between $45 billion and $95 billion.

In October, the National Wildlife Federation organized an emergency appeal to help the Federation’s affiliates, La Sociedad Ornitológica Puertorriqueña (SOPI) in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands Conservation Society (VICS), many of whose members sustained personal losses. Both organizations are currently using these funds for humanitarian aid, for community and habitat cleanup, and for surveying damage to wildlife populations and wildlife habitat.

By the start of 2018, overall recovery efforts in the U.S. Virgin Islands had succeeded in restoring power and clearing major roads, as well as removing most of the sunken boats and other debris from the main cruise ship harbor at Charlotte Amalie, the territory’s capital city. These efforts have helped to bring new life to the tourism-dependent local economy. Damage to the mangrove lagoons and coral reefs, which provide crucial storm protection, is known to be extensive but has not yet been fully surveyed. Members of VICS remain active in community cleanup, removing woody debris and mulching it for planting beds and recycling.

The news has moved on, but we can’t lose sight of the fact that millions of our fellow Americans are still suffering. Photo credit: Collin O’Mara

It is estimated that a full recovery could take up to two years for the U.S. Virgin Islands.

“The personal pain of natural disasters made 2017 a particularly tough year. But this pain reminds us that it has never been more important to be good at what we do—saving America’s wildlife together and making our natural resources more resilient. Thank you for standing with us.”

Speak out for legislation that supports natural infrastructure to better protect communities and wildlife during hurricanes and floods!

]]>http://blog.nwf.org/2018/02/u-s-virgin-islands-affiliate-sees-long-path-to-recovery/feed/1133103Reject KXL Before Threat of More Destruction to Habitat and More Wasteful Expenseshttp://blog.nwf.org/2015/10/reject-kxl-before-more-destruction-to-habitat-and-more-wasteful-expenses/
http://blog.nwf.org/2015/10/reject-kxl-before-more-destruction-to-habitat-and-more-wasteful-expenses/#commentsMon, 12 Oct 2015 14:50:07 +0000http://blog.nwf.org/?p=109655

The Keystone XL pipeline would threaten sandhill cranes with the possibility of oil spills and increased collisions with power lines. Photo donated by National Wildlife Photo Contest entrant Myrna Erler-Bradshaw

The announcement is another win for the landowners in the path of the Keystone XL and the many Nebraska and national groups that have been fighting against the tar sands pipeline.

President Obama should use this opportunity to formally reject the federal permit for the Keystone XL.

If the President delays rejection, TransCanada, Nebraska state agencies, local communities, citizen groups and others could spend months or years and precious dollars fighting over the route for a proposed pipeline that might never be built.

Win or lose, TransCanada would be on the hook for the cost to state agencies to assess and review the proposed route. However, Nebraska’s small towns, rural counties, Tribal governments and civic groups have no way to charge TransCanada for the money they will pay to review, understand and tell the public about the risks and impacts of the pipeline.

Founded in 2005, the mission of Renewable Resources Coalition, a 501(c)6, and Renewable Resources Foundation (RRF), a 501(c)4, is to protect the ongoing viability of Alaska’s fish and game resources and the habitat upon which they depend, and to educate the public on issues that affect these renewable resources.

At National Wildlife Federation’s 79th Annual Meeting in Shepherdstown, W. VA, this year, NWF honored its Alaska state affiliate, Renewable Resources Coalition and Foundation (RRC/F), with its prestigious Affiliate of the Year Award.

Protecting Alaska’s Wilderness

With the looming threat of the development of Pebble Mine, RRC/F has fought to protect Bristol Bay, one of the world’s last great wildlands and home to the largest remaining wild salmon runs in the world. Thanks largely to the innovative and effective work of RRC/F, this disastrous project is now immensely unpopular with a majority of Alaskans and has become an issue of national importance.

Sockeye Salmon are one of the wildlife species RRC/F is working to protect in Bristol Bay. Photo by The FishEyeGuy.

One of their most visible successes has been the creation of Salmonstock – an annual music and arts festival that continues to educate thousands of young Alaskans about protecting Bristol Bay and the region’s wild salmon runs.

Last year, RRC/F launched an aggressive state ballot initiative campaign to protect Bristol Bay for years to come. The Bristol Bay Forever Initiative passed in November by wide margins statewide. The Initiative ensures that “large-scale” metallic sulfide mining operations(s) will not constitute a danger to the fishery within Bristol Bay Fisheries Reserve.” This standard of “do danger to the fishery” will apply not only to Pebble Mine, but to any potential large-scale metallic sulfide mine proposed in the region.

Bristol Bay, Alaska. Photo by The FishEyeGuy.

RRC/F’s incredible success on this vital issue is the result of work by a small staff and many volunteers around the state who advocated for the protection of Bristol Bay. Thanks to the tremendous work of RRC/F, we are now within reach of winning this battle and protecting Bristol Bay, and its wild salmon and wildlife, forever.

A moose passes through Pierce Pond in Maine. South Portland’s City Council this week showed that local communities can band together in powerful ways to stand up for themselves and their wildlife. Photo credit: Flickr user Michael Lepore.

The people of South Portland, Maine, made historic news last night.

Based on overwhelming vocal public concern about the dangers of toxic tar sands to wildlife and the community, the City Council passed an ordinance that prevents the Portland Pipe Line Corporation or others from building the large, polluting smokestacks necessary to load any form of tar sands crude oil onto tankers in its beautiful coastal port.

Not only does this have big implications for every town along the 236-mile pipeline route through Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Quebec on the way to the Montreal terminal, it’s an exciting example of a community standing up to protect itself against a local threat, and winning against a big oil opponent.

What did it take to make this happen?

Dylan: The core of the South Portland effort has been citizens working together. For them, tar sands is not an abstract, international issue—it’s a local matter of whether to allow a new heavy industrial use with acute local impacts, including toxic air pollution from new smokestacks on the waterfront. It’s been amazing to support this tremendous effort, and it will leave South Portland a stronger community, with strong and talented citizen leaders, for the challenges it faces now and in the future. It also took local elected officials having the courage and integrity to respond to the will of the people and guide the civic process that brought them to the vote last night.

At the first City Council vote on the Clear Skies Ordinance, supporters wore blue t-shirts and spoke powerfully in favor of the ordinance. Photo: 350 Maine.

What does the vote in South Portland say nationally about the future of tar sands and tar sands projects?

Dylan: It’s a signal that tar sands projects are not inevitable, and that as communities become more aware of the specific and varying threats they could face, they can stand up for themselves in appropriate yet powerful ways and win.

What advice do you have for communities around the country who want to protect their communities from the local threats of tar sands projects?

Dylan: Work together, and be persistent. We couldn’t predict the path this effort took, nor was it ever easy. The people of South Portland recognized the threat to their air quality and to the scenic waterfront that is essential to their economy and quality of life, and they have worked tirelessly to bring the whole community into the discussion. The other side, the oil industry—largely the American Petroleum Institute—has used its vast resources to follow a standard playbook of lobbying and scare tactics. South Portland is showing New Englanders that a strong community can see through that smokescreen and place their health and prosperity first, and that’s a path communities in both the United States and Canada can follow.

After disappearing from the wild and being carefully reintroduced and conserved, only about 45 endangered red wolves live in the wild in the entire world. They now make their homes in the forests and marshes of eastern North Carolina where an amazing “foster family” program for helping the species recover is in jeopardy of being discontinued.

Endangered red wolf in the wild in eastern North Carolina. Photo by Rebecca Bose/USFWS

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was helping red wolves in the wild recover—through the Red Wolf Recovery Program, a few pups born in captivity every year were placed in dens to be fostered by wild parents. The pups are usually embraced by their new parents, learn to survive in their natural habitat and eventually go off to have their own families. Here’s the surprising and amazing way it works:

In the Spring, wildlife experts go out in search of breeding pairs and keep close tabs on them, watching for the exact day when the litter is born, usually sometime in April or May. After the mother has her pups, it’s time to search for the den site—which is tricky and can take some real skill as she will have multiple dens to help keep the pups hidden. If she’s spooked or senses the pups have been discovered, she moves them out of the den and the search starts all over again.

Red wolf pups. Photo by DJ Sharp/USFWS

Now if the wildlife experts can get close enough to the den in the wild, they count the pups. If the litter is small, two or three pups, and their eyes are not yet open– the litter is a great candidate for foster pups. The only way this will work is if there is a donor captive litter that is close in age by a few days and also sufficient in size so that removing one or two pups for placement in the wild will not decrease the litter too much.

Then one or two of the captive born pups are carefully moved to the new foster den in the wild, but it must be done quickly as they should not be without a mother for more than 24 hours.

Red wolf den in the wild. Photo by R. Nordsven/USFWS

The wild pups are stimulated to urinate on new pups so they will have the scent of the wild litter. When the mother comes back, she accepts them and raises them as if they are her own.

More than half of the captive born pups fostered in the wild since the program started in 2002 have survived and in the last couple of years, many have gone on to have pups of their own. A great success story!

Part of this success may be due to the strong family ties red wolf breeding pairs have in the wild. They typically stay together for life and have new litters together every year. And often older sibling offspring from the previous year will stick around with the family and help feed and raise the new pups.

Red wolves in the wild are cooperative breeders – sibling offspring from the previous year will stick around and help raise new pups. Photo USFWS.

One of the wildlife experts leading the fostering program said, ” The stars have to align just right for this to work.” And thankfully, the Red Wolf Recovery Program has been working wonderfully.

But the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service may now significantly cut efforts to save red wolves in the wild.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is recommending shrinking the already limited habitat range for wild red wolves, discontinuing release of red wolves into the wild, capturing red wolves from the wild on private lands, and placing captured red wolves into captivity.

This represents a significant shift in the Service’s resource allocations – focusing on the approximately 200 red wolves located at captive breeding facilities across the country. Because of this shift, the 45 red wolves remaining in the wild face a very uncertain future.

Please speak out to help save red wolves in the wild before it’s too late.

Near the Outer Banks of North Carolina in the heart of the five county Albemarle Peninsula, there is a federal wildlife refuge called Alligator River.

With more than 152,000 square acres, the wetland refuge is home to countless species, but one in particular attracts visitors from all over the world—the red wolf. These travelers come a long way for something they are unlikely to even see at all in the wild. Instead on Wednesday nights from June through August visitor services staff will take guests on “howling” tours. Unless there is heavy rain or lightening, visitors will soon hear the howls pierce the night.

Alligator River Refuge and the surrounding peninsula is the only place in the world where the howls can be heard in the wild. The wolves’ presence is the result of decades of conservation work that has restored about 100 red wolves to three national wildlife refuges and the surrounding lands. Unfortunately, this beautiful and unique animal is at risk of being lost forever due to a recent spate of illegal shootings.

More on this in a moment—first, some context is needed.

Recovering from Extinction

That the red wolf is roaming in the wild today is itself a remarkable story. Though the species once ranged from eastern Texas to the Atlantic Coast and north into southern Pennsylvania, by 1970 uncontrolled hunting, habitat loss and predator control programs had removed the red wolf from all but the remotest parts of Texas and Louisiana coast.

After the species was listed as Endangered in 1967, the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) initiated a plan to capture as many genetically pure red wolves as possible. Capturing almost 400 animals, a team of researchers carefully removed any coyotes and hybrids, leaving just 14 breeding red wolves. In 1980, FWS declared the species extinct in the wild. The approximately 300 red wolves alive today are all descended from these few individuals.

Under the recovery plan, the first four pairs of red wolves were released in Alligator River National Refuge in 1987. Today the wild population stands at around 100 individuals. As many as 200 more are spread across 44 U.S. captive-breeding facilities. At facilities like Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, education programs are held where guests can learn more about these amazing animals.

Within the 1.7 million acres over which red wolves now roam, these nocturnal predators stand at the top of their food chain, playing a valuable role in keeping numbers of prey, such as deer, raccoons and the invasive nutria in check, thus protecting the habitat of all species living there. Unfortunately, as wolf range has grown, the dangers threatening red wolf survival have become more pronounced.

Not Out of the Woods

While the red wolf’s return to the wild is a conservation triumph, the species’ long-term success requires constant monitoring and support. Two key problems still imperil the red wolf:

Following the red wolf’s extermination in the region, coyotes (native to central North America) moved into much of the red wolf’s former range, including the Albemarle Peninsula. Capable of adapting to human presence, the coyote may compete with red wolves for prey. An even greater threat is the risk of interbreeding between the more numerous coyote and the scarce red wolf

Nor are coyotes the only threat. Human interactions with red wolves often end in tragedy. While the red wolf is a shy creature and unlikely to seek a confrontation, humans pose several risks as our own range continues to expand. Constant development and new suburban housing fragments potential habitat for the wolves, and increases the likelihood of an encounter. Sometimes this can mean automobile accidents, but more recent encounters have a more sinister nature. Poachers have set their sights on this fragile population.

Poachers Target Red Wolves

Within the past few years the number of red wolves shot and killed has spiked upward. Last year, between October 28 and November 19, six red wolves were found shot. Earlier this month FWS staff found another red wolf that had been shot and killed. The radio-tracking collars on the dead wolves had been tampered with, suggesting that whoever killed them was trying to cover up the shooting.

Combined with accidents, the species lost more than 10 percent of its wild population in just one year. This loss of adults, including breeding animals, will likely reduce the production of cubs during the next few years, creating a major obstacle for the red wolf’s long-term survival.

NWF Puts the Target on Poachers

The red wolf is protected by the federal Endangered Species Act, and a poacher who targets any of the remaining animals in the wild not only imperils the decades-long recovery effort but also faces federal criminal and civil charges. The National Wildlife Federation and its state affiliate, the North Carolina Wildlife Federation, are committed to ensuring that those responsible for illegal shootings are brought to justice. In addition to supporting outreach and education to help build public support for red wolf conservation, the two federations and their conservation partners are offering a reward for anyone who provides information leading to the arrest and conviction of a red wolf poacher. Taken together, combined pledges of the conservation groups amount to $33,000.

“The National Wildlife Federation, as one of the organizations that helped to bring the red wolf back into the wild in the 1980s, is proud to join the coalition of groups that is working to tackle the latest challenges to its survival and recovery,” said John Kostyack, NWF’s Vice President for Wildlife Conservation. “It is truly a national treasure, and we hope that with the National Wildlife Federation’s pledge, someone with knowledge of these attacks will finally come forward and break the silence.”

Tim Gestwicki, CEO of the North Carolina Wildlife Federation, agrees. “Against the longest of odds, the red wolf still roams the wildlands of eastern North Carolina,” he said. “If the wolf is to survive and have even a chance to thrive, it will be because Americans everywhere refuse to stand for the illegal and despicable killing of an endangered species.”

The howl of the red wolf is an ethereal call of the wild, almost unearthly in its beauty. The music of the wolf lingers in the mind and haunts the heart. Those of us who are committed to conservation cannot stand by and let poachers silence the night skies of the Albemarle Peninsula.

If you have information regarding an illegal red wolf kill, contact Wildlife Refuge Officer Frank Simms at 252-216-7504 or North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission Officer Robert Wayne at 252-216-8225. To report an accidental red wolf death, call FWS at 855-496-5837 or the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission at 800-662-7137.

]]>http://blog.nwf.org/2014/03/red-wolves-an-endangered-species-in-peril/feed/1893187With Support of Nonprofits, Hunters Help to Feed Nation’s Food Insecurehttp://blog.nwf.org/2013/11/with-support-of-nonprofits-hunters-help-to-feed-nations-food-insecure/
http://blog.nwf.org/2013/11/with-support-of-nonprofits-hunters-help-to-feed-nations-food-insecure/#respondThu, 07 Nov 2013 20:12:00 +0000http://blog.nwf.org/?p=87967Good nutrition. It’s an essential component of healthy living. Food fuels physical growth, mental well-being, academic achievement and economic productivity. But according to research by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 14.5 percent of U.S. households are food insecure. That means some 33 million adults and 16 million children don’t always know where they will find their next meal.

While these numbers are sobering, they are also motivating to the NWF affiliate organizations that help to administer programs in their states aimed at reducing hunger. Known by different names—Hunter’s Harvest, Share the Harvest and Hunters for the Hungry among them—these programs are similar in mission: provide ways for sportsmen to donate venison to those in need of food assistance.

Source of Protein

“Deer meat is a valuable, low-fat source of protein,” says Travis Scott, director of development at Conservation Federation of Missouri, which partners with the Missouri Department of Conservation to run Share the Harvest. During last year’s hunting season, more than 6,200 hunters donated 318,115 pounds of venison—helping the program, which was founded in 1992, surpass the 3-million-pound mark of donations to date.

This donated venison is “hugely important to anyone in hunger relief, because protein is one of the most difficult things to acquire enough of,” says Peggy Kirkpatrick, executive director of The Food Bank for Central & Northeast Missouri, a beneficiary of Share the Harvest. Her colleague Scott Gordon, communications coordinator at the food bank, says clients appreciate receiving such a “rich, flavorsome and healthy” food in winter.

With the active support of Governor Jay Nixon and other proponents, participation in the Missouri program has increased annually since 2009. “Each year, hunters throughout the Show-Me State help tens of thousands of struggling families put food on the table through the Share the Harvest program,” says Governor Nixon. “I’m proud to be part of this tradition, and I encourage all Missouri hunters to join me in donating a deer to help feed Missouri families in need.”

Support of Volunteers

Matt Simcox, who manages Tennessee Wildlife Federation’s Hunters for the Hungry program, has likewise witnessed growth. “It goes back to that Volunteer spirit,” he says. “Tennesseans are willing to help their neighbors.” Certified processors collect and process the donated deer meat, which is then distributed to food banks and soup kitchens across the state. In 2012, Tennessee sportsmen donated 136,162 pounds of venison, enough to supply nearly 545,000 meals.

“This is something that everyone can get behind. Even those who don’t hunt can contribute to cover the cost of processing,” Simcox says. “One deer, processed at a cost of roughly $40, can provide more than 150 meals.”

Because Tennessee Wildlife Federation and the nonprofit administrators of like-minded programs in other states help to underwrite the costs of processing and distributing donated venison, financial contributions from individual donors as well as foundations and other groups are critical to their operations. Georgia Wildlife Federation, for instance, recently received a grant from the Walmart Foundation to fund processing of deer meat for the Peach State’s Hunters for the Hungry program. And North Carolina Wildlife Federation secured a grant from the North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission to launch Farmers Manage Deer, which aims to help manage the state’s deer population by allowing sportsmen to hunt on farmland.

White-tailed deer consume nearly $30 million’s worth of crops annually in North Carolina, where an estimated 1.2 million deer live. “We recognize deer as a resource,” says Judy Gardner, who co-manages the Farmers Manage Deer project with her husband Guy. “Through this program we’re trying to increase crop yield by reducing the current loss caused by deer and to prevent future crop damage with the sustained reduction of deer density. It’s the perfect collaboration on three levels: wildlife management, agricultural production and community nutrition.” Participating hunters keep the venison they’ll use and donate the rest to food banks via the state’s Hunters for the Hungry program.

The kids got off the bus and looked around nervously at the flowing river, the trees and the lack of buildings. After spraying themselves thoroughly with insect repellent, they started asking me questions: Miss, will we go over the waterfall? Miss, are there alligators in that water? Miss, is something going to bite me? Some just came right out and said: I’m really scared!

Uncertainty sparked these expressions. The young people were about to kayak for the first time in their lives—participants in a summer program designed to give city kids with limited opportunities to explore the natural world a chance to learn a new outdoor skill.

Kayaking Basics

With more than 15 years of experience taking people out on the water, WPWA is equipped to engage even the most timid of beginners. Our Hope Valley, Rhode Island, campus on the Wood River is the ideal location to teach anyone to paddle:

Barberville Dam creates a quiet, pond-like setting in front of the public launch site at the facility;

Within a short paddle upstream, the river is full of marsh plants and wildlife;

Our fleet of 30 single-person plastic boats can accommodate large and small groups; and

We have staff trained by the American Canoe Association in Kayak Instruction Level I, the basics of paddling.

Outreach was made to organizations serving urban and/or at-risk youth in the communities of Providence, Pawtucket, Central Falls, Woonsocket and West Warwick to identify program participants. From May to August 2013, Environment Council of Rhode Island and WPWA hosted 182 young people, ages 10-17, on twelve paddles of the Wood River. The youth were given instructions in kayak paddling before being launched into boats for the 60- to 90-minute journey upstream. During the paddles, river ecology and qualities of clean water systems were discussed. Participants saw painted turtles, great blue herons, osprey, aquatic flowering plants and numerous damselflies and dragonflies.

This project was an unqualified success. Most of the children attending had rarely been out of the city and never had a chance to engage in an outdoor activity on the river. While many arrived with expressions of fear and anxiety, they quickly caught on to the basics of paddling. They got to try something very much out of their comfort level and learn a little about the Wood River.

Helping Hands

I credit much of this success to the volunteers who helped out with the paddles. They made the kids feel at ease, coaxing them gently onto the water, watching them and giving them instructions as needed. One volunteer stood in the cold water in May, holding onto a young girl’s boat and letting her grip his hand until she felt comfortable enough to start paddling on her own. Other volunteers pulled stuck boats off sandbars and towed kids who were getting tired. They helped keep the trips organized and safe.

The best question I heard, while returning to the dock one day, was from a young man who asked: Miss, when do we get to do this again?

Image by Meg Kerr.

About the Author

Denise Poyer, an avid outdoorswoman, has been the program director for Wood-Pawcatuck Watershed Association since 1994. During her tenure, she has developed all of the association’s educational programs and many of its recreational ones. She also manages WPWA’s water-quality monitoring and scientific research programs. Denise has a bachelor’s degree (Wildlife Biology and Environmental Management) and a master’s degree (Environmental Education) from the University of Rhode Island. Her specialty is watershed education.

]]>http://blog.nwf.org/2013/10/kayaking-kids-nonprofits-give-urban-youth-a-chance-to-explore/feed/087657Nebraska Groups Offer Utilities Road Map to Cleaner Energy Futurehttp://blog.nwf.org/2013/08/nebraska-groups-offer-utilities-road-map-to-cleaner-energy-future/
http://blog.nwf.org/2013/08/nebraska-groups-offer-utilities-road-map-to-cleaner-energy-future/#respondFri, 23 Aug 2013 18:00:37 +0000http://blog.nwf.org/?p=84829Nebraska is unique among the U.S. states: It’s the only one that serves its electric customers entirely through public power entities. While this system of 100 percent public power has been largely successful keeping consumer rates low through the years, Nebraska’s utilities have been slow to embrace energy efficiency programs as a way to meet energy needs.

Because managing demand is generally far cheaper and more eco-friendly that building new fossil-fueled power plants and drilling new gas wells, Nebraska Wildlife Federation (NEWF), a National Wildlife Federation affiliate, launched an effort two years ago to press Nebraska’s major utilities to invest in energy efficiency programs.

Nebraska Affiliate Champions “Conservation Power Plant”

Wind turbines in the Cornhusker State. Photograph by Nebraska Public Power District, NREL 16442.

To build support for what it dubbed a “conservation power plant,” NEWF engaged partners—environmental nonprofits, energy-service businesses, farm groups, unions and others—in the outreach campaign.

“The effort soon grew well beyond our original expectations,” says Duane Hovorka, NEWF executive director. When Nebraska Public Power District, the state’s largest utility, announced plans in fall 2011 to invest $1.5 billion in upgrading old coal-fired plants to meet new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations, the coalition that NEWF had brought together was poised to take action. “We jointly obtained a foundation grant that allowed us to quickly ramp up our efforts,” says Hovorka. And the groups successfully convinced the utility to conduct an analysis of energy-generation options before making any decisions to retrofit aging plants. The motivation behind the “stall” tactic? That the Nebraska Public Power District might find alternative, cost-effective ways to deliver power and meet EPA’s pollution-control standards.

“Individual Nebraskans have long been convinced that clean energy is the way to go,” says John Atkeison, energy policy director at NEWF. “Poll after poll, survey after focus group continue to show that, by very large majorities, Nebraskans think the public power utilities they own should be moving faster and further to embrace wind, solar, energy efficiency and other clean energy solutions.”

Reducing risk to rising fuel prices may be one compelling reason to consider diversification of fuel sources. Since 2002, for instance, the cost of coal transported to Nebraska utilities—two-thirds of which are currently powered by the fossil fuel—has increased each year by an average of more than 11 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. In contrast, the price for new wind power is lower today than it was a decade ago, and solar photovoltaic energy also continues to fall in price (see NEWF’s Harness the Sun report). The National Renewable Energy Laboratory says Nebraska wind energy and solar resources rank #4 and #9 in the nation, respectively—yet these resources are mostly untapped in the Cornhusker State today, accounting for less than 4 percent of electricity generated in 2012.

Cost for Cleaner Energy Is Competitive

In June, after a year and a half of analyzing data, Nebraska Public Power District approved its 2013 Integrated Resource Plan, a tool that its board and management team will use to guide decisions regarding future generation resources. In it, the utility identified a couple dozen scenarios that would provide reliable, affordable electricity for customers. The district then used projections for current and future costs for the different energy sources to estimate the needed investment associated with each scenario.

Solar energy unit on family farm in Nebraska. Photograph by Martin Kleinschmit.

“At least one scenario studied in the analysis points the way toward a cleaner energy future for Nebraska,” says Hovorka, describing the phase-out of several old coal-fired plants and substantial new investments in wind power among its elements. But the “clear wake-up call,” adds Hovorka, is this: The estimated cost to implement this clean energy scenario would be essentially the same (a difference of less than one-half of 1 percent on a customer’s electric bill) compared to “business as usual”—a status-quo approach that would mean keeping aging power plants running for decades, continuing to rely predominately on coal and nuclear power to meet energy demand and largely ignoring the benefits of low-cost energy efficiency, wind and other clean energy sources.

While it’s not known at this time what energy path Nebraska Public Power District or other utilities will choose, NEWF and its partners continue to advocate for actions that substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions, limit impacts on wildlife, improve human health and stimulate job growth and investment in Nebraska. A Clean Energy Omaha plan was drafted for consideration by the Omaha Public Power District, and proposals for ways Lincoln Electric System might grow its clean energy investments are being developed. The Lincoln utility has already adopted a policy that it would meet all projected electric load growth over the next five years through a combination of energy efficiency and renewable energy—“a huge change,” says Atkeison. Tabling at events such as rallies, energy tours and baseball games has helped NEWF bring its message to citizens who are supportive of the cause.

“Human beings can be the solution. And we have to be the solution,” Atkeison says. “It’s up to us. We can do it with current technology.”

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]]>http://blog.nwf.org/2013/08/nebraska-groups-offer-utilities-road-map-to-cleaner-energy-future/feed/084829Endangered Species Designation Offers Diamond Darter a Chance to Shine Onhttp://blog.nwf.org/2013/08/endangered-species-designation-offers-diamond-darter-a-chance-to-shine-on/
http://blog.nwf.org/2013/08/endangered-species-designation-offers-diamond-darter-a-chance-to-shine-on/#respondWed, 07 Aug 2013 19:20:52 +0000http://blog.nwf.org/?p=83937The diamond darter (Crystallaria cincotta), a tiny fish that has faced serious threats, will now be protected under the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced late last month. The diamond darter’s protected status will take effect on August 26.

Like its diamond namesake (the fish sparkles when it reflects light), the darter is rare and found only in areas where the conditions are just right to support it. Habitat loss, degraded water quality and other stresses over time have restricted the fish—once present in the southern Appalachians from Ohio to Tennessee—to a 22-mile stretch of West Virginia’s Elk River. This small population size, says the Fish and Wildlife Service, makes the species vulnerable to the effects of invasive species, loss of genetic fitness and catastrophic events, such as toxic spills or floods fueled by climate change.

“It is an honor and a responsibility to have one of the rarest fish in the world surviving in one of our rivers,” says Angie Rosser, executive director of the West Virginia Rivers Coalition (WVRC), which advocated for listing the darter as endangered with critical habitat designation. An affiliate of National Wildlife Federation, WVRC is dedicated to protecting the quality of West Virginia’s water resources and striving to conserve and restore the state’s exceptional rivers and streams.

Recognized as one of the most ecologically diverse rivers in West Virginia—more than 100 species of fish and some 30 species of freshwater mussel call the waterway home—the Elk is also considered one of The Mountain State’s most vulnerable. Continued threats include insufficient wastewater treatment and natural resource extraction and development, says Kathleen Tyner, WVRC’s conservation and advocacy program manager. While she and her peers regard the federal listing and the safeguards such affords as welcome news for the diamond darter, WVRC has not slowed its own efforts to protect habitat for the fish and other species.

Recently, for instance, the nonprofit urged its members to oppose the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s proposed changes to the state’s Water Quality Standards rule. If adopted, the revisions would allow for significantly more pollution from the discharge of aluminum, which is toxic to aquatic life. WVRC is also active in the coalition of partners advocating for the establishment of Birthplace of Rivers National Monument in the Monongahela National Forest. The proposed monument is home to the headwaters of six rivers, including the Elk.

“As West Virginia celebrates 150 years of statehood, our congressional leaders have an opportunity to set aside some of the most special wild places in West Virginia for future generations, honoring a rich mountain culture deeply connected to the land,” says Tyner.